We seem to be obsessed with it. It is a result of our fixation on how little time we have to accomplish whatever it is we are working on. It is a result of our love of efficiency. It is part of our bias against thinking. Yes, many cube dwellers have a strong bias against thinking! Our foe: multitasking, and it often kills effectiveness. Multitasking – or any attempt to proactively manage one’s time – can always be taken too far. Multitasking in particular can be very problematic for two main reasons.

• It reduces your cognitive capacity dedicated to any one task. This means you’d better be working on very routine tasks or you risk increased mistakes. Even for routine tasks, you’ll reduce your ability to critically think about them – and thus you miss out on creative insights about how to improve the way you work.

• It sends bad signals to anyone interacting with you. People often multitask when dealing with others. This is not a recipe for building positive working relationships. They are far more likely to think you’re not paying attention and don’t value their time as opposed to thinking about how super productive you are.

I’ve met more than a few managers who think it is cool to work on emails while talking to someone in their office. I’ve even seen a few talk to business colleagues on the phone while writing notes back and forth with a person sitting in their office. In all cases, the communication wasn’t optimal. In some cases it is even comical. The ultimate issue then is whether or not you sacrifice effectiveness for efficiency when you multitask. Usually the answer is yes. This much we know with great confidence – you limit your creativity and typically send unintended and/or bad signals to others.

Stop multitasking – step away from the email and focus on one person or task at a time. I admit, it’s not always bad. My advice: many of you who know me can see this one coming – first, think through the 80/20. If a task is really important, it should not be part of your multitasking. Second, is the timeline very small? If it is not yet in the danger zone, don’ multitask. Does this project require any real creativity or novel thinking? If so, you sure as heck better not multitask!

Dr. Dewett is a nationally recognized leadership expert, professor, author, professional speaker and consultant specializing in all aspects of organizational life. As quoted in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, CNN, the Chicago Tribune, MSNBC and elsewhere. He is the author of Leadership Redefined. Podcasts, blog, free newsletter and more at http://www.drdewett.com Copyright 2009 TVA Inc.

5167EPW72qL. SL75 Multitasking Is Overrated Design Design “Multitasking” Beverage Napkins
Made of heavy 3-ply paper. Made in Germany. It measures 5 by 5 inches folded. There are 24 items per package….
41Gm8hWsgCL. SL75 Multitasking Is Overrated BrandTech 737100 PC610 NT Oil-Free Multitasking Vacuum System, CEE Plug, 230V
The 230V CEE plug PC610 NT dry vacuum system features the new MD4C NT vacuum pump to provide whisper-quiet vacuum with integrated …
3196m0sf hL. SL75 Multitasking Is Overrated Getting Organized: Improving Focus, Organization and Productivity
Getting Organized is a collection of simple ideas that address at least six major issues that could be generating chaos and disord…